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Atari 2600 – Missile Command

Another game that everyone played and pretty much everyone loves.
This time, I’m not the exception. Yay!

Missile Command came out only one year after its arcade debut and sold like hotcakes.
2,5 Million copies, which means that almost everyone who owned an Atari 2600, also bought this game.
No surprise.

Some evil russians aliens are attacking America earth and it’s your duty as a commander to defend your homeland against incoming missiles by shooting at them with…well, other missiles.
If all of your six cities are gone, its game over.

Simple and straightforward gameplay (thanks to its arcade roots), but there are a few factors to consider like the right time to detonate your missiles and of course their explosion radius.
Do you wait until two or more enemy shots cross paths in an attempt to destroy them with one hit (and risk total annihilation) or do you take them out one by one (and risk going out of ammo).
There is a lot to think about and you don’t have much time as every wave is faster than the last one.

There is also a ‘children mode’ if you want to practice for a bit and the option to play with a buddy.
I only tried singleplayer and couldn’t be happier tho.
Nice graphics and buttery smooth controls are one thing, but man is this game addicting.
I would argue that it’s pretty much impossible to only play a few rounds instead of a whole night.
With that in mind, I’d put Missile Command in the same tier as Frogger or Pac-Man.